The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) unveiled the new format the Friends Provident Trophy and the Twenty20 Cup will take from the start of the 2008 campaign.

The changes are designed to reduce the amount of dead rubbers and increase the number of local matches for each county.

The Friends Provident Trophy will be changed from a two-table system split into North and South Divisions to four groups with five teams each.

Each side will play eight games, meeting their four opponents at home and away, before a knockout stage featuring the top two sides from each group.

Scotland and Ireland retain their places in the competition alongside the 18 first-class counties.

The Twenty20 competition will be expanded by two matches per team, meaning each side will now play 10 times in the group stages.

ECB Chief Executive, David Collier said: "We were keen to reduce the number of so-called 'dead games' in the Friends Provident Trophy and add a competitive edge to all of the games in the competition without increasing the volume of cricket."

He added: "The Twenty20 Cup continues to attract new spectators to the sport and the introduction of extra fixtures will give even more people a chance to sample the Twenty20 experience at their local county ground.

"And the prospect of more local derbies will add further spice to the competition at the group stages.

"Counties may play fewer teams under the new structure but there will be more local derbies thus reducing travel and making the logistics of the programme more acceptable."